Catch Up on Destiny’s Story Before Rise of Iron’s Release

Destiny 1.0

Sometime in the distant future, a mysterious orb drifted out from space and settled in our solar system. This unknown entity would be called The Traveler, and thanks to its advanced technology, would usher in an unprecedented era for human technology. Dubbed “The Golden Age,” this time period saw advancements in everything from space travel to artificial intelligence to weaponry. However, the good times cannot go on forever, and centuries later, an unknown force simply called “The Darkness” attacked. The Darkness’ power was beyond that of the humans and their allies, which forced them to the brink of extinction. This caused The Traveler to drift towards Earth and hover over the last bastion of humanity that withstood the repeated attacks of The Darkness.

Soon after, The Traveler began to create and release A.I. companions called “Ghosts,” who were tasked with bringing back to life humans, their mechanical creations called Exos, and a new race born out of humanity’s collapse called The Awoken. These forces were meant to bolster the defense of the last city and stronghold of Earth, The Tower.

Destiny begins with your Guardian awakened by your Ghost in a desolated area called Old Russia. Despite being in a daze and having just come back to life, the alien race known as The Fallen begin to chase your character through a great wall. This will eventually lead to your character finding a ship and escaping, barely, before more powerful Fallen can arrive. You’re then introduced to the only known link to our mysterious floating sphere in the sky, The Speaker. He tasks you with returning to Earth to help reconnect probes, fight off Fallen enemies, and genuinely clean up the mess that was left behind. There are notes of a lost A.I. Warmind called Rasputin, and during one of your explorations, you run into a race called The Hive, who instantly attack the Guardian without mercy.

In order to learn more about them and stop their spread, you are sent off the Moon to locate a dead Guardian conveniently located right outside of a Hive stronghold. It turns out that The Hive are creating a force large enough to invade and capture Earth. So, being the trouble starting Guardian that you are, one of the first things you do is destroy an ancient powerful weapon called the Sword of Crota, stop all communications to their “god,” and disrupt a ritual meant to sap The Traveler’s energy away.

Eventually, you are called away to Venus by the mysterious Exo woman called The Stranger, who decides to introduce you to another alien threat, The Vex. She explains that The Vex are a mechanized race that has infected a variety of different planets, spreading their power and authority across the galaxy. The Stranger implores the Guardian to find their ancient city, The Black Garden, and rip out whatever heart remains. The Stranger assures that doing this will begin to heal The Traveler and help humanity in fighting The Darkness. However, you will need help for this fight and thus you jet over to a place called The Reef, where the Awoken Queen Mara Sov lives.

In order to gain her trust and help in finding The Black Garden, her brother (and Hot Topic enthusiast) Uldren Sov tells you to prove yourself by slaying a Vex Gate Lord. After defeating this massive mechanized monster, the Guardian returns with its head and is told that using the Gate Lord’s eye grants access to The Black Garden. The only problem is that this area is located on Mars, currently a warzone between the Vex and a militaristic army of turtle-like people called The Cabal. As one might expect, this doesn’t stop the Guardian from disrupting both Cabal and Vex installations.

This quest for The Black Garden leads the Guardian to an underground area called The Buried City, where you find an old A.I. Warmind that is now under control of Rasputin. After fighting your way through the Vex, you learn that they are being summoned back to The Black Garden, which allows you to sneak into this alternate dimension. The only knowledge we have comes from our Ghost, who explains that The Black Garden is not on “any map of known space and time.” Despite this, you fight your way through hordes of Vex and eventually come to a large open courtyard where dozens of ancient Vex are worshiping a black, beating heart. Using its power, the black heart brings to life several golem-like Vex statues until it is fully drained of its energy and explodes.

Soon after, you return to The Tower where The Speaker gives a rousing speech to everyone reminding them that this is only the first battle. The vanilla campaign ends with the mysterious Stranger giving you her weapon and vanishing off into The Tower. However, the threat of The Hive has only begun as their forces begin to swell once more on the Moon.